Extra $189m in GST one of few surprises for Tasmania ahead of state budget
Tasmania’s budget pockets will be a little heavier next financial year from a welcome federal government boost to GST. Why there were little other surprises for the state in the 2025-26 budget.
Tasmania
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Tasmanian government coffers will receive a welcome boost in GST payments in 2025/26, with Australia’s smallest state to receive $189m more in federal receipts than the previous financial year.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ pre-election budget, handed down on Tuesday night in Canberra, earmarked $3.778bn of GST-related payments for Tasmania in 2025/26, up from the $3.589bn the state received in the current financial year.
The figure exceeds recent estimates from the Commonwealth Grants Commission, which forecast Tasmania would receive $3.640bn of GST payments in 2025/26.
In total, the island state will receive $6.309bn in federal payments in 2025-26, up from the $5.779bn handed out in 2024/25.
GST payments represent the Tasmanian government’s single biggest source of revenue, and the $189m dollar boost will no doubt make Treasurer Guy Barnett’s job that much easier when he hands down the state budget in two months’ time.
Dr Chalmers’ fourth budget, delivered in the shadow of a federal election due in a matter of weeks, contained few surprises for Tasmania, although householders will welcome $43.7m funding in energy bill relief, and there was good news for potential first homeowners in changes to the Help to Buy scheme.
Elsewhere in a financial blueprint tagged “Turning the corner, together”, there were also significant investments in health, education, and infrastructure for Tasmania.
With tax cuts, energy bill relief, and a reduction in the maximum price of PBS mediation, Dr Chalmers framed his cost-of-living budget as a road map to national economic recovery.
“Our economy and our budget are in better shape than they were three years ago,” the Treasurer said.
“Because of our collective efforts, the worst is behind us and the economy is now heading in the right direction.
“The plan at the core of this budget is about more than putting the worst behind us.
It’s about seizing the best of what’s ahead of us.
“To build a stronger economy. And a future we can all be proud of.”
Dr Chalmers announced that the Help to Buy scheme – which includes a government-provided equity contribution of up to 40 per cent for the purchase of new homes – would be expanded to allow thousands more Australians to buy a place of their own.
For Tasmanian first home buyers, the price cap for a new home eligible for purchase under the scheme has been lifted to $700,000 in Hobart and $550,000 for dwellings elsewhere in the state.
Labor is upping its equity investment in the program from $5.5bn to $6.3bn, amounting to an $800m increase.
The federal 2025-26 infrastructure spend in Tasmania includes $95.6m for urban renewal projects in Hobart and Launceston, which takes in the Macquarie Point precinct in Hobart and stadium redevelopment in Launceston
The government allocated $200m to upgrades to the Arthur Highway, and another $80m for the Southern Outlet Transit Lane Extension, while $11.8m was set aside for Hydro Tasmania’s Tarraleah Hydro Power Station redevelopment, following last year’s investment of $30.4m.
Meanwhile, Canberra will spend $47m in each of the next four years to provide a fit-for-purpose home berth for the ice-breaker, RSV Nuyina, at Macquarie Wharf 6 in Hobart, while $3m was allocated for the upgrade of tourist facilities at Freycinet on Tasmania’s east coast.
In the state’s northwest, the government will contribute $900,000 towards a memorial at Hillcrest Primary School following 2021 tragedy in which six student died.
Tasmania will receive $50m for hospitals and health services in 2025-26, with $88m earmarked over the next three years for the Northern Heart Centre in Launceston, and another $10.6m to be spent on new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the state.
The federal government will spend $6m for supporting increase in demand for maternity services in Hobart, which follows recent developments at the Hobart Private Hospital, while $5m will fund the construction of a new hospice within the Launceston General Hospital precinct.
In each of the next three years, $400,000 will be spent developing a medical research centre within the Launceston General Hospital, which has a total price tag of $1.6m.
Through the Better and Fairer Schools funding scheme, the government has allocated $292.5m for Tasmania’s public schools in 2025-26., and another $449.3m for the state’s private schools.
The federal government allocated another $2m for literacy support for students.
Originally published as Extra $189m in GST one of few surprises for Tasmania ahead of state budget
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